Automotive illustrator Aditya Narayan has given an interesting Indian twist to a few icons of the car world
India may not be on the map of hardcore motorsport enthusiasts around the world, but over the decades, our country has contributed several talented minds to the domain. It is fair to say that Indian motorsports, on multiple occasions, has not received the support it deserves. To the wider population, circuit racing, drags or rallies are still an unknown realm of expertise and Sholavaram — the birthplace of Indian motorsports — is just a random suburb in Chennai.
We cannot help but wonder how things would have been (in a parallel dimension) if India was dominant in motorsports. The possibilities are endless. In addition to the chances of getting accessible fun-to-drive cars or even homologation specials, one would be able to see popular Indian brands in a different avatar: motorsport liveries.
Automotive illustrator and rendering artist Aditya Narayan (Instagram profile: @chopperkid111) has imagined such a scenario. While the Malayali design student did not choose motorsports as such as his inspiration, he created some interesting liveries based on nostalgic Indian brands. As fitting platforms, Aditya chose five icons from the past:
Frooti Lamborghini Miura
Marcello Gandini’s Lamborghini Miura is easily one of the most beautiful cars ever made. Almost everyone would agree with us if we say that orange, yellow and green colour suit the transverse-V12 classic the best. Parle Agro’s Frooti had a theme combining these colours back in the day and it surprisingly does absolute justice to the Miura’s flawless lines.
Parle-G Honda Beat
‘Kei cars’ is a vehicle segment which the brilliant automotive engineers from Japan formulated as a response to their government’s stringent norms on engine size, output and dimensions. Kei sportscars proved that there is indeed a replacement to displacement. The mid-engined cute little Honda Beat from the early ‘90s is a brilliant example of a Kei car. Understanding the simple lines of the Beat, Aditya crafted a Parle-G livery over it — a genius work as the ‘G’ rightfully stands for.
Medimix Chevrolet Chevelle SS
Sold between the mid-1960s and -1970s, the Chevrolet Chevelle was a successful model line from 20th-century General Motors. To gain entry into the hot muscle car market of the time, the car was given an ‘SS’ or ‘Super Sport’ treatment alongside an added ‘Malibu’ nametag. Even today, it is a common participant in American motorsports (especially drag races). For the same reason, the Chevelle SS has seen the wildest kinds of sponsor decals and liveries but never anything related to a herbal soap brand such as Medimix. As inappropriate as it sounds, we are sure that you can smell this second-gen Chevelle SS soft-top.
Ujala Supreme Honda Prelude
Among its five generations, the third-gen Honda Prelude is often regarded as ‘the’ Prelude. Reasons are aplenty and not limited to its pop-up headlamps, NSX-like styling, impressively low drag coefficient or class-leading performance. It was the first mass-production car that went ahead of its time and featured mechanical four-wheel steering. The late-’80s Prelude sports typical JDM three-box proportions that are clean — in this case, Ujala Supreme clean!
Nataraj Maserati 8CM
Remember the good old school days of discrimination on the grounds of one’s pencil? The classmate with a Nataraj pencil was always a step below the studious Apsara person or the rich Faber-Castell guy. This does not mean Nataraj was a bad choice of school supplies. It was in fact a brand which united the broader audience of students. It will forever remain a classic, just like the pre-war Grand Prix racer, Maserati 8CM.
